Everlasting Twilight
by asphyxiat3
Summary: Ray lives in the small town of Oceanside, California. Nothing is abnormal here. But what happens when she finds out what her best friends are? And what about that strange boy she just met that makes her weak at the knees?


_Chapter One_

The sandy shore was bright with light that emitted from the sun casting its glow overhead the crowded beach. Everything was so hot and sticky that the perspiration was clearly visible on the bodies of the sunbathers. Everyone seemed to move at a slower pace than normal, along with the steady rhythm of the waves. In and out they moved like the heartbeat that kept all living things alive.

It was somewhat of a relief for me to be at this beach, in the midst of the steady crashing waves and perspiring bodies. I wanted nothing more to relax and be relieved of the stress that had been pushed upon me for the last few weeks. I thought that everything could somehow be cleared off. A clean slate.

A sunbather dozed off lazily next to me and breathed heavily before turning over. I watched as her towel wrinkled beneath her and crushed against the grains of sand. The wind blew lightly against my cheek and caught the umbrella above me in its dance; it wavered in the strong arms of the wind. I pushed my funky red-colored Ray Bans up on my nose before straightening the umbrella back upright. I thought for a moment and then pursed my pink lips; covered by a stout pink color made by MAC Cosmetics. It was surely wearing off in the mid-day heat. I forced myself from applying another unnecessary coat. It was a nervous habit of mine, applying lipstick, when I was either nervous or stressed. The occasional feeling of self-consciousness also fell into the category when qualified for it.

The stench of overcooked hot dogs wafted through the air and down the beach; the scent was coming from a hot dog stand that was only feet away from the umbrella that I was under. The boy at the stand worked laboriously in his white apron while a bunch of kids ambushed the place all at once. I pushed up my sunglasses one more time before taking another breath of stale air and turning my nose downwind.

Some people like to call me Rayne or Ray, but I prefer Ray the most. My real name is something to be embarrassed of: Raynalise Alexandria Elizabeth Whitacker.

It's a mouthful, for sure.

I hail from the small town in Southern California called Oceanside, in between Los Angeles and San Diego. It's a part of California that has been effected by Mexican culture due to its closeness to the border beyond the United States. Every night it's tacos and burritos for dinner at the local diner or some other dish that's kicked up a notch. Our houses are all stuccoed with red tile roofs and we all wear flowers in our hair on Sundays.

Sadly, none of us have Mexican blood coursing through our veins.

My house is one of those typical little haciendas that you would expect to find in Oceanside, California. The walls are stuccoed with a peach color and the roof is in fact red tile. It's nothing bigger than your average three bedroom, three-and-a-half bath, with a screened in porch on the back. It only stands out because of my mother's incredible love for her home state of Texas. The whole inside of our house is like living on the ranch with a few Texas outlaws to keep you company. Even the décor on the outside of our house is like the said state. Instead of the typical pine straw stuffed around a few lush bushes, it's a bunch of assorted rocks thrown neatly around a cactus or two and maybe a palm tree.

Then there's always that old beaten up Range Rover parked in the driveway to add to the atmosphere of the house. It's painted the color of forest green and the paint is chipped terribly, the back window is nearly gone, and the front tag is a Texas flag. It's the only transportation that my mom has driven in twenty years, and by the looks of it, it's easy to see that it has been driven that long. It's... _an embarrassment_, to say the least.

Sadly, for my mother, she left Texas when she was in her twenties to find a job in California. To her, there was supposed to be something waiting to pop out and catch her at the right moment. She always thought that she'd find her thing and return home on the company's paycheck and somehow still work for it. Where she came from, there were no jobs for the younger generation. My mother always told me that the picture perfect life is a bowl of cherries statement was running through her head when she went to California in her naive state of mind.

I couldn't blame her for wanting to come to California, but maybe _not_ small Oceanside, California.

I _am_ grateful for her trip to this town although I dislike it, because it's where she met my dad for the first time. She likes to tell me stories about how they met one day at a local shop in Oceanside where all of the tourists- not many, I'll tell you that- made their way through the town. He was a clerk at the store and she was asking for directions... pray I tell you more? It was probably one of the happiest days of her life, and she ended up staying in California, getting married, and having a baby girl with the man that she met one day at Oceanside Novelties.

...Charming, isn't it?

I swallowed hard as the sun continued to beat down on my body while I was picking up the contents of my colorful beach bag. I was beginning to burn immensely under the harsh UV rays that were beating down on the beach; my ultra protection sunblock obviously was not _ultra protection._ It had probably washed off due to the thin layer of sweat that covered my body. I could see the red beginning to form on my arms and legs and I quickly threw on a t-shirt and a pair of pants to cover them up, hopefully keeping them from becoming too red.

The contents of my pocket began to vibrate whilst I was struggling with the door of my car and the bags that were in my hands. I would have to remember to bring a friend to the beach next time so I wouldn't have to kill myself with the loads of stuff that I carried. My hand dug around ferociously in my pocket until I found what I was looking for- my sidekick. The wind continued to hit my face full on as I flipped open the screen and looked at the new text that had been sent to me from Carrick Faden, a good friend of mine.

As you can tell from the odd name, he isn't American. He's Irish.

My sea-colored eyes stared down at the text message as I pulled my sunglasses over my head to get a better look.

_You better get your butt down to the skate park. You promised. _

_ -C_

I scowled and opened the door to my old 1986 yellow Mercedes. The paint, like on my mother's car, was chipped and the seats were so worn out that the stuffing in the cushions was spilling over everywhere. I frowned and pulled my sunglasses back over my head before getting into the car. I shifted in the seat for a minute before turning on the air conditioning and putting it into reverse.

Why did I promise, out of all of these days, to go to the skate park with Carrick?

He said, more like insisted, that I come watch him because he had gotten substantially better than the time I had seen him before. The last time I saw him skate was just over two weeks ago. He was already so good at it that I didn't see how he kept getting any better than he already was. Confusing, right? But either way, he was just a natural at it. He knew about every trick in the book about skateboarding. It made every kid on the block's self esteem lower to watch him skate for just a few seconds. I was beginning to question his sanity.

But unlike his sanity my dear friends, his looks are not at all questionable. It was the only thing that I liked to give him credit for. I will admit that one of my best friends is probably one of the most handsome guys that I know. Maybe it's the trace of an Irish accent that still lingers in his speech or the way his eyes are so beautiful, I don't exactly know. He's the type of guy that is oblivious to the fifteen million girls out there that think he's the hottest thing they've ever seen.

You see, Carrick is just naturally _gifted_.

His hair is the color of chocolate- dark chocolate. The color of it is so vivid and beautiful that you would think it was not at all a natural color. I could always spot him miles away because of that head of hair he had. What was the killer though was his eyes. They were like the pools of green that were so vibrant it hurt to look at them. His pupils were always dilated for some reason and his eyes always seemed to be sparkling. And when he looked at you it was like you were staring at someone who was looking deep inside of you and understood everything that you said. A spray of light freckles made their way across his fair complexion that was always flawless. His face was shaped perfectly, so perfect that even if I tried to describe it the best to my abilities, that I wouldn't do it any justice.

He even made me- _a girl-_ feel utterly self conscious in his presence. I could just imagine what it would do to some of the other guys that I knew. Kind of depressing.

Half an hour down the road, I found myself at one of the coolest skate parks in California. The best thing about it is that it's located not some fifteen minutes from my house in Oceanside. My friends and I often hang out down there during the weekdays when school is in session and like to watch Carrick and the guys skate. Even though Carrick has a way of showing off every chance he gets.

It's in the middle of a park that was just recently built about four years ago when all of us entered high school. The guys were so psyched that they could skate somewhere in the town besides the sidewalks and they didn't have to drive an hour up the road to find a decent place to skate. It's probably the biggest place I've seen built for skateboarding, with about ten ramps and a half pipe that weaves throughout the park. Just watching the guys go at it there is like watching something from a pro tournament, or even the olympics. They're all very talented when it comes to the sport.

I got out of the car and adjusted my shirt before looking out at the vast crowd of kids trying to drop in the half pipe. It wasn't hard to find Carrick in the mess of people though, considering that he was an aggressive skater. I could easily spot him a mile away if I wanted. He was always the one shoving through packs of kids and dominating everything. It was so stupid how they would let him, and then would be so amazed by his skills instead of getting mad at him for taking their turn. Shows how smart kids are these days. I immediately saw the back of Carrick's head, his dark chocolate locks pushing through a crowd of kids that looked as if they were not a day older fifteen. He pushed through them, turned around, and scanned the parking lot. I knew he was looking for me. His green eyes flashed over my figure for a moment before his face registered excitement.

He ran through the crowd now, making the kids scatter in every direction around him. I laughed lightly before my eyes met his full appearance. He was wearing dark blue skinny jeans and his beat up blue lace-up Vans that were like his lifeline when skating, a white Fender shirt, and a pair of neon green Ray Bans that were similar to mine. _God, he has such a perfect sense of style. _I have never seen a boy that put much effort into what they wore and actually looked as good as he always managed to.

"Ray! You got my text didn't you, cupcake?" He smiled cheekily and threw his arms around my shoulders.

"Cupcake?" I looked at him quizzically. "What the hell is that?"

"It's your nickname, baby," He gave me a desperate look. _Ok, something's up._

"What's wrong with you? Are you feeling alright?" I put my hand to his sweaty forehead, instantly pulling it off and wiping the sweat onto his shirt. There was nothing more disgusting than his nasty sweat. He looked at me and furrowed his eyebrows before messing his hair back down into his face so that it framed it perfectly.

"Yeah, look, could you like do me a quick favor?" He whispered so that no one else around could hear. I nodded and he continued, "Just pretend that you're my girlfriend for like five minutes, alright?"

_See! I knew something was up._

"Are you kidding me? You're ridiculous," I scowled ad pulled on his hand, heading for the group of kids that he had previously pushed aside. They were staring at him like he was completely legit.

"Pwease Ray? I'll buy you some ice cream. Your favorite flavor!" He begged, puppy dog eyes in full effect.

_I wouldn't mind some birthday cake ice cream right now..._

"Fine. You're lucky it's hot outside and I'm in the mood for some ice cream," I rolled my eyes and he threw his arm around my shoulder once again. I could feel the sweat soaking through his shirt onto mine. I scrunched my face up and looked down at my t-shirt. It was starting to become wet.

_It's all okay. You're getting ice cream. Think ice cream._

I crossed my arms as a black-headed girl approached us, her arms crossed and a smile on her face. She was wearing an outfit similar to Carrick's and was wearing some pretty cool shoes, I have to admit. Obviously he was trying to pull one of those moments where he got out of something because I was his 'girlfriend'. It's not like I haven't done this before for him. He seriously owes me big time.

"Hi Carrick," She smiled big at him and then her eyes went to me, staring curiously. She spotted his arm around my shoulders and then glared at me for a few moments before letting the smile return to her face. She was looking at him. "Who's your friend?"

"This is my girlfriend, Ray," His grip on my shoulder tightened. I almost rolled my eyes, but this chick was getting on my nerves a little bit. "She came to watch me skate."

"Oh," Her mouth formed the perfect O and her eyes went to her feet. "Well, I'll let you two to yourselves."

She turned her back towards us and left, never taking even the slightest glance back. So this was what he was trying to get away from. Another one of those crazy girls that thought he was gorgeous and tried to get him to like her. I felt kind of bad for her though, she was pretty, and Carrick just has problems with dating people. He's always been so weird about that. He never has had a girlfriend from what I can remember...

"Thanks Ray. I love you!" Carrick gave me one of his famous grins and squeezed me tight into a hug. I felt like I couldn't breathe because he was crushing my entire body.

"I know you do! That's why I get some ice cream now," I put on a cheesy grin to match his and pointed to Ben and Jerry's. He rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say you'd get it _now_. Let me skate first."

"That's just cruel," I growled and sat down on the concrete, hanging my feet over the side of one of the ramps. "Oh, and by the way, you better hurry up. I don't have all day!"

"I'll do my best, _cupcake,_" The grin on his face was wider than before. I muttered obscenities under my breath as he pushed a few kids out of the way before dropping into the half pipe. Too bad his face is so pretty or I would have already smacked the grin right off of it.

I sat to myself, scowling while he executed tricks perfectly. He really is one of the best that I've seen around. I searched the place for other kids that could match his skill, but no one could seem to skate as well as he did. I found myself dazing off into my own little world after about ten minutes of watching him and thinking about things. I just couldn't sit there and watch him as long as he wished me to, but it really got boring because he was so freaking amazing. Trust me, I've seen him so many times that I know pretty much everything he can do. I felt a vibration in my pocket and I jumped, pulling out my sidekick.

_I'm coming down to the skate park. Heard you were there and I just thought I'd keep you company. I know how big Carrick's ego is... No one can handle it alone. XOXO, Lee._

I smiled and shoved the phone back into my pocket. At least Leanne would come down here and entertain me. I knew that it wouldn't be a while before Carrick was finished. I decided that it would be better if I walked around before Leanne got here, considering that my legs were becoming stiff and falling asleep from sitting here so long. I got up and stretched for a moment, deciding on where I should go. _Maybe Ben would be on the other side of the park where he usually hung out... or maybe I should just go get some ice cream already._ I didn't notice anything around me as I was standing there contemplating, and before I knew it someone had run right into me full on, knocking the both of us over. I could hear their skateboard hitting the wall nearest to us and someone groan. My hands felt as if they were on fire.

"I'm so sorry! Are you alright? I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," A masculine voice split through the air, a little to my right. He sounded worried. I lifted my eyes to look over at the person who had knocked me down, and I instantly froze.

_And I thought Carrick was pretty hot..._

He looked tall, definitely just over six feet. Beautiful black locks framed his face and made his icy blue eyes stand out. _Oh and his face... it was so gorgeous._ I was sure that by now I was drooling or something. I had to shake my head to keep myself from loosing all sanity. I loved the way his hair brushed over his lovely features and looked as if it were fringe surrounding them. He was wearing a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a deep purple shirt with a couple of Alaskan Huskies on it. They were my favorite dogs. Damn.

"I-I'm fine, really. No big deal," I smiled and sat up. He was already towering over me and offered me a hand.

"I'm seriously terribly sorry," He apologized again and ran a hand through his midnight hair. It looked so soft that I just wanted to touch it.

"It's fine, no big deal," I told him.

_Oh yeah, I'm definitely fine with you here._

"Well I'm glad you're alright. My name's Arden, by the way," He gave me a dazzling smile.

"I'm Raynalise, but most people call me Ray," I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks.

"Nice to meet you Ray. I've gotta run, but I was wondering... do you come here that often?" He asked, an innocent expression on his face.

"Yeah, all the time. My friend's the one that likes to show off over there," I laughed and pointed to Carrick. He was still taking his sweet time making sure that all the kids knew he was the best.

"I must say, he's probably the best here though. See you soon Ray," He smiled at me for one last time. I waved to him and turned around, my face completely red. I was sure that I was probably blushing the entire time. He was just so good looking that it was impossible not to blush or even concentrate around him. I felt my heart soar in my chest. I was going to get to see him again!

"Who was that?" I heard Leanne's voice from behind me. A grin was plastered to her face. "Let me tell you, whoever that just was, he is fineeee."

"His name is Arden," I blushed.

"Who's Arden?" Carrick smirked, walking up to the both of us with his skateboard in hand.

"Some kid that just ran into Ray and made her blush like crazy. I think she has a crush!" Leanne gushed. I buried my face in my hands. I was still to in shock from coming in contact with him to come up with a comeback.

"Awh Ray, how about some ice cream now?" Carrick asked, pulling my hands away from my face.

"What ice cream?" I asked dumbfounded.

"Sheeit, Ray. Just come on," Carrick smirked grabbing my arm.

From the expression that was still glued to my face, you would think I just saw an angel.

**Author's Note:  
I really want to thank you guys for reading this and I hope you enjoy it. Please write a review about this and tell me anything you like or dislike about my writing... just don't go overboard and make me feel like a completely shitty writer (even though I already know I am a pretty shitty writer).**

**All of the characters in this story are my own, as well as the plot line. In other words, this entire story is completely original. Please do not use any of this without my consent. If you do, I'll have to release a can of whoopass all on you, and no one wants that.**

-xoxo Lauren :)


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